


Reunion

by VividDayDreamer



Series: Prompts and Challenges (Supergirl 2015) [40]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: AgentCorp, AgentCorpWeek2020, Angst, Don't copy to another site, F/F, Family, Painful Losses, Sisters, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:00:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23369605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VividDayDreamer/pseuds/VividDayDreamer
Summary: Alex and Lena prepare to go back to Midvale as part of a yearly ritual they do to remember Kara's death.  But it all ends up being too painful for Alex to live through.  Even after several years.
Relationships: Alex Danvers & Kara Danvers, Alex Danvers/Lena Luthor, Kara Danvers & Lena Luthor
Series: Prompts and Challenges (Supergirl 2015) [40]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1356811
Comments: 8
Kudos: 40





	Reunion

**Author's Note:**

>   
> 
> 
> Challenge Details: 
>   * Challenge Name: [AgentCorp Week 2020](https://agentcorpevents.tumblr.com/themes1)
>   * Relationship: AgentCorp
>   * Theme: Day 1: "Family"
> 

> 
>   
> 
> 
> **Find me on[Tumblr](https://dreamsescapeus.tumblr.com/).**
> 
>   
> 
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
>   
> 

Lena wrangled with her keys, slipped in the proper one into the lock, then cursed at finicky handle of their condo door as she twisted and turned it.

"The amount of money we pay to live here and they can't even get a goddamn locksmith to fix this godforsaken door," Lena grumbled under her breath, annoyed at already being late for their trip out of town.

"Alex? Alex? Are you ready to go?" Lena shouted by the entrance, slipping out of her heels and dropping her purse. Her eyes anchored onto the luggage they'd packed the night before, which at this point should've been in the car. 

"Alex?"

Barefoot, she walked hurriedly towards the bedroom. There, by the foot of the bed, she found Alex crumpled up on the floor, sobbing heavily into her arms. Lena rushed to her side.

"Baby... darling, what's wrong?"

But rather than an answer, the weeping continued. Lena knelt beside Alex, reached for the woman's shoulders and guided her up to allow her to lay her head onto Lena's lap. Desperate for answers her eyes wandered about the floor, looking for clues. She didn't have to look far. On the other side of Alex was an old shoebox laying open; its lid lay beside it. She didn't need to see inside to know what it was.

"Oh, Alex..."

Lena curled low to kiss at her auburn hair, curling her arm around Alex's head, while the other smoothed out her back with gentle circles. She let Alex pour out unrestrained emotions, knowing that today would be hard. Originally she thought that perhaps Alex wasn't ready to take on this journey, but Alex insisted.

"Alex...," Lena whispered softly into the back of her head. "We don't have to do this..."

"We do...," came the muffled, sob-stricken voice from below.

Alex calmed herself once her eyes were too sore from crying and the tears no longer came. She sniffled a few times before she slowly lifted herself to sit. Lena released her hold; hands hesitant to let go of Alex. Shuddered breaths came as Alex came down and furiously wiped her eyes on the sleeves of her shirt. She kept her eyes pressed against her arm for a moment as she slowly filled up her lungs, slow and controlled. Eventually, she looked at Lena. With worry stricken eyes, Lena quietly watched her, waiting for her to breach the silence. 

Then, a broken smile formed on Alex's lips, her brows furrowed and her jaw trembled.

"I went to grab the box... I wanted to take it with me... I thought I was ready...," Alex said, holding back the pain.

Lena scooted closer and put a gentle hand on Alex's thigh, lending her the strength she knew Alex sorely needed.

"I wasn't ready, Lee!" Alex finally exclaimed. She pursed her lips as she attempted to contain another wave of tears which threatened to fall. Her fists were clenched tightly, though, they weren't empty. In each hand, she held two small stuffed animals by its torso. Racoons or skunks, Lena wasn't sure, but they were identical, save for the colors that were painted on its fur. One, was black and white, while the other was pink and white.

Lena shifted behind Alex, allowing the woman to lean back against her as she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and embraced her tightly.

"It's okay, love. It's okay not to be ready..." Lena's heart broke two-fold. Once for watching Alex endure such pain, and again for having to share the immense loss. But she opted to swallow down her emotions— something she's learned to do over the years— knowing that _she_ needed to be the strong one today. For Alex.

"Kara...," came from Alex's small and fragile voice.

She struggled with a tightness in her throat, but eventually said it, to dare utter the name of the one person she loved like no other. She had tried hard to keep from even mentioning her anytime she could. But yet, she finally did. On yet another anniversary of her sister's death, she felt the need to. Even after all these years, Alex never forgot her sister.

"Kara loved these things," she chuckled with despair. 

Lena looked over, quietly perching her chin upon Alex's shoulder to eye the stuffed animals she had referred to.

"It was love at first sight..." 

Alex braced her arm against Lena's, which clutched at her chest. She held out the hand with the pink and white racoon and stared at it for a moment, her thumb brushing across its slightly soiled fur.

"This one's cotton candy," Alex giggled. "Kara wasn't very creative with names. When we were at the boardwalk, she saw it and wanted it, but she'd used up all her allowance playing other things. I had a few bucks left and gave one to her. She insisted that I play. She knew her aim wasn't very good and I just thought, all it was, was just knocking down cans with a bean bag. Couldn't be that hard. But then I realized she was shorter than me then, so it kinda made sense. So I did, and won her this guy, and... god, Lee... You should've seen how happy she was. She clung onto this silly thing like it was her life saver. For years."

Lena nodded as she recalled seeing the little furry creature in Kara's backpack a time or two.

"You won her two?" Lena asked as she stared down at their arms, the other animal captured by Alex's chest.

"Oh. No, this one's Bandit. He's mine," Alex chuckled. "I didn't really want him at first, to be honest, but Kara insisted I win him so that we could be twins. Sorta. I only had a dollar left, and I really wanted to buy some popcorn instead, but... you know Kara and those puppy dog eyes she was great with..."

Alex swallowed hard, pausing. She needed a moment to collect herself. As she gazed upon the dark, plastic eyes of the raccoon, it's as if she saw the past, but not just any past. Kara. She saw childish Kara, pouting with enlarged eyes looking right at her, pleading for her to win another stuffy so they could be 'twinsies'. It took everything Alex had to stifle the ache in her chest. She pressed her lips tightly and squeezed her eyes shut; her muscles tensing as a result of the overall shift in thought. Lena only held her closer.

After another deep, but labored breath, Alex continued.

"So I played. I won this guy...," she said, waving the animal up by Lena's face and tapping her nose with Bandit's, causing Alex to break into a timid smile. "You'd never have guessed that these two would take adventures together everywhere... She called me her hero that day..."

And with those words, Alex shattered once more. Her arms crossed against her chest, clutched onto the pale arms that held her tight. Her body shook as painful sobs left her heaving for air and cheeks dampened with tears.

"What kind of hero am I!" She shouted in anger. "I... I couldn't save her! I should've... I should've—"

"Alex, love, you were a child. You couldn't have known about the decaying boards on that bridge. You were both playing innocently, like children do... If I... If I had been there..."

"Lena, you were eight...," Alex interjected, opting to carry the burden on her own. "You were younger than Kara, you couldn't have done anything to help. Even if you were there..."

Lena held onto Alex harder. She wasn't sure if that were true. They'd all grown up together, playing in the same neighborhood for years, for as long as she could remember. On that dreadful afternoon, the Danvers sisters had gone out exploring, running off without her since she was in the middle of piano lessons. She took the news just as hard as Alex did, when she'd found out that Kara had fallen into the creek, with currents taking her down its course and eventually drowning her. Many excruciating hours passed before rescuers found Kara's body. Lena still believed that if she had been there, she could've helped Alex grab hold of Kara, using both their combined strengths to lift her back to safety, saving her from falling into the cold waters below. Unfortunately, that 'if' was something they'll never know the answer to.

It's been years—decades since the accident, but Alex never got over it. She never could accept the fact that _she_ was Kara's only hope then, and she _still_ held onto the guilt for failing her after all this time. As Lena and Alex grew up together, bonding over the years, closer and closer as friends, lovers and partners, they had worked through the loss together, yet missing Kara at every pivotal point in their lives.

Lena hadn't known the details about Cotton Candy and Bandit. She was familiar with the stuffed animals, seeing them in Kara's backpack a few times when they were younger, but never questioned them. And honestly, she hadn't even seen them in years— probably even since their childhood days. The story was heartfelt and touching, and she could sense the importance of them and why it tore Alex apart. It even brought tears to her eyes thinking about the two young sisters in their former years, bonding like she had remembered them always being. It still hurts to think of her former best friend had passing away so young, and how scared Kara must've been, falling into the waters below, chilling her bones and taking her life. Alone. Lena squeezed Alex again, leaning her head into the base of Alex's neck, horrified at the thought. 

And they sat there quietly, as they always did when Alex fell down this path of regret, reliving the memory with Lena by her side. The visceral feeling of loss got easier over time, but Alex never forgot her sister, constantly finding herself a broken mess of tears and memories when she got too close to the source.

Today was the anniversary of Kara's death. And as per tradition, Alex always honored her memory by going back to the rural suburb of Midvale, to walk the trails they had as kids, watching the sun crest over the edge of the horizon, painting the skies in hues of pink and red and orange and purple, then disappearing into darkness, leaving them to stare up into the night sky. It was a serene moment, to look back upon fonder times, basking in the glow of the sun, bright and warm like Kara's smile, then the dim, twinkling stars above, reminiscent of their star lit bedroom and how they'd laugh and chatter before falling asleep.

Alex will always miss her sister, forever carrying a hole in her heart that no one could ever fill. However, a glimmer of hope still remained for Alex, believing that one day, she'll be reunited with Kara and will never be separated again.


End file.
